Technology
Definition
White label software is a product built by one company and rebranded and resold by another under its own name — allowing businesses to offer software capabilities to their customers without the cost or time of building the technology themselves.
White label software takes its name from the plain white label on a product that a reseller stamps with their own branding. The software vendor builds and maintains the core product; the reseller licenses it and presents it under their own brand with their own logo, colors, and domain. The end customer often has no visibility into who actually built the underlying technology. Common white label software categories include payment processing, email marketing platforms, CRM tools, analytics dashboards, website builders, mobile apps, and online booking systems.
The business model for white label arrangements typically involves either a revenue share (the reseller pays a percentage of what they charge customers to the underlying vendor), a flat monthly licensing fee, or a per-seat or per-usage fee. The reseller captures the margin between their customer price and the vendor's wholesale price. For the vendor, white label distribution expands their market reach through reseller channels without direct marketing cost. For the reseller, it provides a product to offer customers without engineering investment.
White label software decisions involve important trade-offs. Speed and cost advantages are significant — launching a product category in weeks rather than years, without upfront engineering cost. But the reseller gives up control over the roadmap, feature set, and quality of the underlying product. Deep differentiation is limited when competitors can license the same white label platform. And vendor risk is real: if the white label provider raises prices, changes terms, or shuts down, the reseller's product disappears with it. Contractual protections — source code escrow, pricing protection, termination rights — are essential in white label agreements.
White label strategies can dramatically accelerate go-to-market for new product offerings, but the technology and legal decisions that underpin a white label relationship are complex. A technology advisor can evaluate whether a white label solution genuinely meets your requirements or whether the limitations will create customer experience problems at scale. A technology attorney can review or negotiate the white label licensing agreement to ensure you have the rights and protections you need — including what happens to your customers and data if the relationship ends.
For businesses evaluating white label versus build decisions, a careful total cost of ownership analysis (including ongoing licensing fees, customization limitations, and vendor dependency risk) often changes the calculus significantly from the surface-level 'it's cheaper not to build' assumption.